Ice cream shop
Which kid doesn’t love ice cream? So create a pretend play Ice cream shop for your kids to cool off during a hot day! The ice cream is easily made with shaving cream and a drop of food colouring.
Young children learn by imagining and doing. Through pretend play your child will improve their social and emotional skills, language skills and thinking skills.
Age
From 2 to 6 years
What you need
4 plastic cups
A can of shaving cream
Food colour
Sprinkles (optional)
Ice cream scoop or spoon
Ice cream cone or little cups/plates
Preparation
To make the ice cream fill 4 plastic cups with shaving cream and add a little food colouring to it. Mix it and put it in the freezer for a couple of hours so it gets hard. Set up an area as a dedicated play station where your child can do the activity. A water/sand table would be perfect for it, as it is easy to set up and to clean. This will also help your child to play in one place, and keep the mess to a minimum.
Play
Let them feel the texture of the fake ice cream and let them experience what happens when it melts. Note: The fake ice cream cannot be eaten of course, so make sure you explain this carefully.
Add-ons for more fun play
This can get a bit messy, but the left over shaving cream can be easily rinsed off with some warm water.
Educational
Pretend play is great for kids to develop growth by using their creativity and imagination. Between 3-6 years pretend play will be most interactive, but a 18 month old will already try to feed a doll.
Facilitate pretend play by giving your child props and toys. In the early years use realistic props such as kitchen tools and dolls. When they are comfortable with that you can add some unrealistic props like cardboard boxes or sticks. If you are invited to play (which you will be at one point), let them lead the way.
Young children learn by imagining and doing. Through pretend play your child will improve their social and emotional skills, language skills and thinking skills.
Age
From 2 to 6 years
What you need
4 plastic cups
A can of shaving cream
Food colour
Sprinkles (optional)
Ice cream scoop or spoon
Ice cream cone or little cups/plates
Preparation
To make the ice cream fill 4 plastic cups with shaving cream and add a little food colouring to it. Mix it and put it in the freezer for a couple of hours so it gets hard. Set up an area as a dedicated play station where your child can do the activity. A water/sand table would be perfect for it, as it is easy to set up and to clean. This will also help your child to play in one place, and keep the mess to a minimum.
Play
Let them feel the texture of the fake ice cream and let them experience what happens when it melts. Note: The fake ice cream cannot be eaten of course, so make sure you explain this carefully.
Add-ons for more fun play
- Add a cash register to the play. On a black board you can write the flavours and prices.
- If you want to score some extra points with the kids, make a shop stand so they can sell their creations.
- Using play dough is a good alternative when you don’t want it to become messy
- Have the kids decorate the ice cream with some small beads/plastic fruit. Rinse them off afterwards and you can use them again for another activity.
- If you have some left over shaving cream, add that to the play by pretending it is whipped cream.
- Squeeze ketchup bottle filled with red shaving cream can be a ‘strawberry sauce’ to decorate.
This can get a bit messy, but the left over shaving cream can be easily rinsed off with some warm water.
Educational
Pretend play is great for kids to develop growth by using their creativity and imagination. Between 3-6 years pretend play will be most interactive, but a 18 month old will already try to feed a doll.
Facilitate pretend play by giving your child props and toys. In the early years use realistic props such as kitchen tools and dolls. When they are comfortable with that you can add some unrealistic props like cardboard boxes or sticks. If you are invited to play (which you will be at one point), let them lead the way.